How is it that one person's cliched twaddle is another's charming authenticity? You could probably take any number of back-street, inner-city warehouses with exposed roofing insulation and the occasional atmospheric draft, chuck in some second-hand couches, a few ironic lamps and pieces of bric-a-brac, slap some stencil art on the walls and add a couple of beaten up communal tables surrounded by mismatched chairs and, nine times out of 10, you'd make everybody's eyes glaze over at the boring pop-uppery of it all. But step this way, and I present to you an exception to the rule, the bar at Moon Dog Brewery.

Of course Moon Dog does have the distinct advantage of being a living, breathing, functioning microbrewery. There are stainless-steel tanks looming over the rickety bar down the back and wooden barrels racked up against a whitewashed brick wall, reminders that the stuff you're drinking has mostly been dreamed up right here.

So the idea is that the brewers have turned over some excess space to the general public, cobbled together some furniture for people to sit on or lean against and plumbed the place properly, hits you as both authentic and sincere. You're drinking from the source, man.

It's also the kind of space that, no matter how you're dressed or to what subculture or demographic you belong, you couldn't mess up the look of it if you tried. If that doesn't equate to the best kind of setting in which to toss back a few strong and tasty craft beers then there's just no pleasing you.

Moon Dog has some very good and often eccentric beers in its repertoire. There are eight taps at the bar, six of which are given to Moon Dog's own, the seventh to a guest beer from another microbrewery and the eighth to a regularly changing retro-leaning cocktail (Fruit Tingle and Long Island iced tea have both featured).

It's a good idea to remember from the outset that the Moon Dog output is not shy of an elevated alcohol content.

The excellent Black Lung stout, a big-flavoured, smoky number that's aged in rum barrels for a few months, weighs in at around 8 to 10 per cent ABV, as does the almost chewable Abbey Collaby, a highly addictive, slightly sweet barley wine.

There are beers for those who like to have their boundaries tested (Perverse Sexual Amalgam, a black ale fermented with wild yeast and aged in oak with cherry plums) and for those who prefer to stick with something closer to their comfort zone (the excellent hoppy signature double lager, Love Tap).

The only snack Moon Dog Brewery offers is popcorn. It may be gratis but it's really not much help with the beery onslaught. Better perhaps to avail yourself of the visiting food truck outside the front door each night. It might be the Pizza Wagon or Digging for Fire BBQ Kitchen but it will be beer-friendly. Cheers.

Drink this… Some of Moon Dog's beers don't stick around too long - ask for one of the seasonal or one-offs and prepare to be impressed/overwhelmed.
Eat this… Free popcorn!
Check this… A changing roster of food trucks park in Moon Dog's driveway each night.